Pete Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014)

A couple months after the 2011 Newport folk festival I went onto NPRs website and in a fit of pure Nostalgia and boredom. I stumbled across a recorded set featuring a Chorus of almost every musician playing that year backing up the vocals of a elderly man. Even though the man seemed to be struggling with every note, his presence even through the audio recording was chilling, he made the entire 10,000 attendees silent and then sing along with him in unison.

This man was Pete Seeger

Hearing him host that sing along was a major force to bring me back to Newport. The feeling of family and unity under the open seas and music was something that I have never experienced at any other music festival.

But more importantly Pete Seeger has shown me the true power of music in Society, his life was dedicated to promoting community empowerment and civil rights.